2004–05 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
cyclone season in the South-West Indian ocean

The 2004–05 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was a near average season, despite beginning unusually early on August 30 with the formation of an early-season tropical depression. Météo-France's meteorological office in Réunion (MFR) ultimately monitored 18 tropical disturbances during the season, of which 15 became tropical depressions. Two storms – Arola and Bento – formed in November, and the latter became the most intense November cyclone on record. Bento attained its peak intensity at a low latitude, and weakened before threatening land. Tropical Cyclone Chambo was the only named storm in December. In January, Severe Tropical Storm Daren and Cyclone Ernest existed simultaneously. The latter storm struck southern Madagascar, and five days later, Moderate Tropical Storm Felapi affected the same area; the two storms killed 78 people and left over 32,000 people homeless. At the end of January, Severe Tropical Storm Gerard existed as an unnamed tropical storm for 18 hours due to discrepancies between warning centers.
After a series of weak tropical systems in February, there were two storms in March. Severe Tropical Storm Hennie brought heavy rainfall to the Mascarene Islands, and Severe Tropical Storm Isang remained away from land.
The public source identifies “2004–05 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season” as cyclone season in the South-West Indian ocean. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around South-West, Indian and Ocean.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “2004–05 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season”, the useful work is to connect “cyclone season in the South-West Indian ocean” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q305333. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2004.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “2004–05 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.